Tongue for vehicles



A(No Modem' f J. B. DBNN'ING.-

TONGUB FOR VEHICLES. A

Patented. July! 4, 1882.y

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.JOHN B. DENNING, OE MIAMI, AssIeNOE OE ONE-HALE TO GEORGE WABUITZ, Jn., OE sATER., OHIO.

vToneel; FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION Aforming part of Letters Patent No. 260,545, dated July. 4, 18:32. Application filed April 18, 1882. (No model.)

y To allv 'whom it may concern s' Be it known that I, JOHN B. DENNING, ot' Miami, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tongues for Wheeled Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is in the nature of an improvement upon draft-tongues for wheeled. vehicles, land-rollers, 8vo.; and it consists .in joiuting the tongue at the point where the double-tree is usually attached in such a manner that at the will of the driver-it may be bent, either to the right or4 left, at a right angle, so that the strain of turning the vehicle shall be mutually borne by both horses of the team instead of mainly lby one horse, as with the stift' tongue. When the tongue is straightened up it is retained in this positionby a spring bolt or catch, which is withdrawn by means of a hand or foot lever when the tongue is to be turned.

In the accompanying drawings,'Figure lis a plan of a land-roller containing my improved tongue. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan of the joint. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the upper member of the joint.-

Similar letters of ereference indicate 'similar parts. A is the tongue, consisting of the rigid part a, firmly attached to the front running-gear of the vehicle, and of the movable part a', attached to the rigid part a by means of the joint B. This joint consists of the lower plate,

b, attached by means of bolts to the part a of the tongue, and of the upper plate, b', attached by bolts to the part a of the tongue. The up-l per plate, b', is provided with a staple, b3, preferably cast a part of the plate, forl the reception of the butt of the movable part a of the tongue, and the lower plate, b, is providedwith a fulcrum, b2, in which the lever or arm C is pivoted.

D is a handlever pivoted to the parta of the tongue and provided with pins d d, so that a pull or a push on the lever will elevate the rear end of the lever or arm C and withdraw from their respective sockets the bolts or catches c c.

b4 b4 are the sockets for the bolts, consisting of mortises or notches in the plates b b', which match when the two portions of the tongue A are in line, and through which the bolts c c pass to secure the movable parta of the tongue in a straightened position.

' d is a pin in the side ofthe lever D,by means of which the lever may be -operated by the foot of the driver.

E is the customary brace, which laps over the double-trec,(not showm) and through which the pin bf passes to secure the double-tree to the tongue, which pin also serves as a pivot for the two members or parts b and b' of the joint B. l

By reference to Fig. 3 it will be observed that the plates b and b are provided with grooved flanges bs and b, which receive the circular ends of the opposite plates-that is, the circular end of the plate b rotates in the groove or channel of flange bi, and the circular endof the plate b rotates in theV groove or channel of the plate bl. By means ot' these anges additional strength is imparted to the joint B.

A spring, c', fastened at one end to the under side of the rigid part a of the tongue and pressing at the opposite end upon the rear arm of the lever C, forces the bolts c cinto the sockets b4 b4 of the joint whenever said sockets in the respective plates b and bl register-that is, when the movable part a' of the tongue is brought into line with the rigid part a.

, The plates b and b', lever C, and hand-lever D may be made of cast or malleable iron, as preferred, and the joints B may be fitted up as an independent manufacture to be applied to vehicle-tongues now in use.

The application of a tongue of this character is limited only by the kindsof wheeled machines made, and is absolutely indispensable with heavy. land rollers, trucking wagons, plows, cultivators, and, in fact, all vehicles or draft-m achines requiring a team of two or more horses.

Having described my invention, what I claim 1s- 1. The combination, with a tongue composed of rigid and movable parts a a', united by a swiveled joint, B, of a horizontal lever, C, pivoted intermediate its ends and provided at its forward portion with means to lock the mova- IOO ble part of theV tongue, and a device for tilting said lever on its pivot to depress its forward end, substantially as' described.

2. The combination, with a tongue composed 5 of rigid and movable parts a a', united by a swiveled joint, B, of the horizontal lever C, pivoted intermediate its ends and provided with means to lock the movable part of the tongue, and the pivoted hand-lever D, having means xc :o elevate the rear end of the locking-lever by swinging said hand-lever either forward or backward, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the tongue composed of the rigid and movable parts a, a', of 15 the plate b, attached to the rigid part and pro- JOHN B. DENNING.

Witnesses:

GEO. WABUITZ, J r., J. R. THOMPSON. 

